Shadows & Flame Complete Boxed Set: Demons of Fire and Night Novels

by C. N. Crawford

  She cleared her throat, then mumbled, “I’m engaged to Bael, fallen lord of the Shadow Realm.”

  His green eyes widened. “What?”

  “I’m engaged to Bael!”

  A chill fell over the room, Kester’s large eyes piercing the gloom. “Are you out of your mind? Bael leads the Shadow God’s legions. He was once the Sword of Nyxobas. He murdered his own wife long ago, and he’s second in command to Nyxobas himself. He is not your friend. He would rip your heart from your chest—or worse—if that was what Nyxobas asked of him.”

  Ursula turned back to the window as she tried to decide how to best describe her relationship with Bael. Kester was wrong, of course. Bael wasn’t a threat. If he’d wanted to kill her, he could have done so any number of times. For an instant, she remembered how he’d pressed her against the wall of her room in Marazion, his teeth on her throat. He could have torn her jugular wide open, but he’d resisted the call of the old way. Whatever Bael’s motivations were, killing her wasn’t one of his priorities.

  She turned back to Kester, crossing her arms. “Bael isn’t our enemy. He’s fighting Abrax too. He—”

  “Bael is ruthless and unmerciful.” Kester’s expression was incredulous. “I cannot emphasize this enough. You cannot trust him.”

  “No,” said Ursula, shaking her head. “He’s changed. He’s lost his wings. Hothgar and the other lords want him dead.” Her mind burned with the memory of Bael kneeling over her on the dusty floor of the arena, as the lords brayed for her blood. She could practically feel the sand on her cheek, hear the jeering crowd and Bael’s strong voice as he asked for her hand. “He saved my life when he claimed me as his wife.”

  Kester snarled, the sound rumbling through Ursula’s gut. “Don’t tell me you consented.”

  “I didn’t exactly have a choice at the time.”

  Kester’s voice was as sharp as one of Cera’s obsidian blades. “Just because you’re in the Shadow Realm living amongst demons does not give you carte blanche to start marrying them.”

  “I had to agree to his proposal to live, and we’ve been allied since. That’s all. Anyway, Emerazel seems okay with it.”

  “Right, she was so happy with this situation that she broke the window in your portal room? Don’t think I didn’t notice that.” Kester’s voice was ice when he spoke again. “I have seen Bael in battle. He is lethal and remorseless. You can’t trust him. Ever.”

  Ursula turned back to the view beyond the window. She remembered how the Shadow Realm had seemed when she first arrived—so foreign to her, so terrifying. Surely this was part of Kester’s problem. Fear of the unknown. And the solitary confinement. How long has he been imprisoned here? She wished more than anything she could get them both out of here.

  The sound of footfalls turned her head—Kester pacing back and forth over the floor like a caged animal. Something was off about him.

  She squinted, studying his gait. He moved awkwardly, favoring one leg. “What happened to your leg?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “You’re limping.”

  “Abrax was trying to get me to tell him where you were.”

  “And he hurt your leg?”

  “Yes.” Kester stopped pacing to sit again on his cot. Violet light from the window caught his face, and Ursula sucked in a breath. Kester wasn’t just dirty. His face was covered in a patchwork of bruises.

  Instinctively she went to him, kneeling on the stone so she was at his level. He lowered his head, avoiding her gaze. This explains everything: the fear, the anxiety.

  “It’s okay,” she said, gently brushing his hair to the side. The bruises ranged from deep purple to greenish yellow. This wasn’t the result of a single beating. Abrax had tortured him more than once.

  “What did he do to you?”

  “It doesn’t matter. He won’t do it again.”

  “What do you mean? You’re still his prisoner.” Just like I am.

  “He wanted you. Now he has you. He won’t have more questions for me.”

  He winced as she traced her finger over his cheek. “Why haven’t you healed yourself?”

  “I did at first, but then Abrax drained my fire. Starkey’s Conjuration doesn’t seem to work properly without it.”

  “Oh right, I’d forgotten about that,” said Ursula. “Well, I still have my fire. I can heal you.”

  Kester smiled for the first time since she’d entered the cell.

  Slowly, she incanted Starkey’s Conjuration. She could feel Emerazel’s fire churn within her, then Kester’s face transformed, the skin lightening to a healthy pink. He leaned back against the wall, and let out a slow breath.

  “Thank you,” he said softly.

  “No problem.”

  Ursula sat on her haunches as she studied him. Resting his head against the gray stone of the wall, with his eyes closed, he looked more like the Kester she remembered. Rakishly handsome, even if his hair looked frightful.

  “So why were you looking for Excalibur?” she asked.

  “To fight the dragons,” said Kester absently, his eyes still closed. “It’s the only way to kill those bloody reptiles.”

  “But the Lady of the Lake wouldn’t give it to you?”

  “She would not.” There was just enough disappointment in his voice to make Ursula suspicious.

  “So the only reason you were searching for the blade was to fight the dragons?”

  “I had to do something,” said Kester, his eyes still closed.

  Kester’s face remained all innocence, but Ursula plowed ahead. “The Darkling prophecy had nothing to do with it?”

  Kester’s eyes flashed open. “Who told you about the prophecy?”

  “Merlin.”

  “That daft old bastard.” Kester sighed. “That stupid poem of his has caused more trouble than this supposed Darkling character.”

  “You don’t believe it’s true?”

  “I haven’t seen any evidence. Anyway, there are plenty of terrible people in the world. Whether one is the Darkling or not seems immaterial.”

  Ursula caught his gaze before he had a chance to look away. “But I got the sword. You don’t think I’m the Darkling?”

  Kester traced his thumb slowly over his lower lip, his gaze boring a hole into Ursula. “I wouldn’t rule it out.”

  Ursula sucked in a deep breath. “Merlin and Nimue sensed something strange about me. I frightened them. But the Darkling is supposed to be evil, and… Well, I really can’t remember if I was evil or not for the first fifteen years of my life, but for the past three, it didn’t get a lot worse than tutting loudly at people who walked slowly in Tube stations.”

  “Until your engagement to a Shadow Lord, I’d never pegged you as evil. And what’s more, the Darkling is supposed to destroy the gods. I don’t suppose Emerazel would have given you her fire if that were in your destiny. She did sense something unusual in you. I just don’t know what it was.”

  Ursula loosed a relieved breath. Of course Kester was right. Abrax was probably the Darkling. Abrax certainly seemed hell-bent on leading a rebellion against the gods. “I still have my fire. We could escape, fight our way out.”

  Kester grimaced. “I tried that already, but Abrax has these creatures. They move like nothing I’ve ever seen—”

  “Golems. Good point. I barely managed to kill one of them.”

  “You killed one?” Kester didn’t bother to hide his surprise.

  “It’s not easy, but they can get over-confident and make mistakes. Fatal ones.”

  “I want to know how you did it. I’m sure I can improve on the technique.”

  Apparently not even Abrax can beat the cockiness out of him.

  Before Ursula could tell Kester how she had goaded the golem into attacking, the door to the cell opened with a rush of frigid air.

  Flanked by a pair of oneiroi, Abrax stood in the doorway, shadow magic flickering about him.

  Chapter 2

  Even in his human form, Abrax sent
an icy trickle of fear through Ursula’s chest. He wore a black velvet jacket buttoned up to the neck and dark gray pants. He moved like a predator, each step calculated to require the barest minimum of effort. Like a cat preparing to pounce. His gunmetal-gray eyes pierced the dim light of the cell, cold as death. “Ready for a little chitchat, Ursula?”

  “I don’t have anything new to tell you,” said Ursula, remaining exactly where she was.

  “We’ll see about that,” Abrax snarled as he motioned for his oneiroi to enter the room. The guards split, one to either side of the room, so that they flanked her.

  Ursula felt fire kindle in her veins, but before she could summon her power, Abrax flicked his wrist. Tendrils of shadow magic leapt from his fingers, wrapping around Kester’s throat.

  Shadows slid through Abrax’s eyes as he turned to Ursula. “Either you extinguish your fire, bitch, or the hound dies while you watch.”

  Kester clutched the tendrils at his throat, his lips already turning purple. It took all of Ursula’s self-control to quench the fire in her blood.

  “Fine, we can talk.” She took a step closer to Abrax, desperate to beat the shadows right out of him.

  “That’s close enough, Ursula darling,” Abrax purred. “Kneel and hold out your hands.”

  Ursula hesitated, but a choking noise from Kester’s throat spurred her to her knees. She knelt on the stone floor. When she lifted her hands, one of the oneiroi drew a pair of glowing manacles from under his cloak. Once Abrax clasped the manacles on her wrists, he smiled at her.

  His pale eyes glinted in the gloom. “This is going to be fun. We have so much to talk about.”

  “I suggest you release Kester.” Flames began to flicker around her fingers. “These manacles might be immune to my flames, but they won’t prevent me from burning you to a crisp.”

  “I’m bored of this now.” Abrax flicked his wrist again, and the cords of shadow magic that bound Kester disintegrated. “But start any fires, and the hound’s dying cries will haunt your nightmares.”

  Ursula studied Abrax as she considered her options. Obviously, going with him wasn’t optimal. For one thing, he’d tried to consume her soul on multiple occasions, and then there was the whole torture thing she’d just learned about. Time spent with Abrax probably was unlikely to be among her happiest memories.

  Her chest tightened. What else could she do? She wasn’t about to let him kill Kester.

  “All right. I’ll come with you,” she said through gritted teeth.

  She followed Abrax into the hall. Once through the cell door, the oneiroi guards assumed positions on either side of her. Each held a short sword with a lethal-looking edge.

  Abrax walked ahead. His shadow magic had receded, giving him an almost human appearance. Still, she’d seen him assume his demonic form enough times to know he could eviscerate her in an instant if he felt like it.

  As Ursula followed, she allowed her fire to begin to kindle in her veins. Not enough for anyone to notice, but enough so she’d have it ready at her fingertips if anyone attacked her.

  Her footsteps echoed off the sleek walls, and she surveyed her surroundings. Abrax’s manor was sparsely decorated, the bare walls a sterile gray. Maybe Abrax took Nyxobas’s edict for austerity and asceticism seriously.

  The manor was deathly quiet, and she would have thought it empty if not for a few glimpses she caught of oneiroi servants slipping into doorways as they approached. Even with Emerazel’s fire warming her, she shivered. Abrax’s own servants found him terrifying.

  When they reached the central hall, Abrax led them down a staircase with steps of black marble. At the bottom of the staircase, they stepped onto the floor of the great hall. While Bael had decorated his floor with an enormous mosaic of a lion’s head, Abrax’s was lined with simple slate tiles.

  As if reading her mind, the incubus gestured at the gray stone. “Ornamentation and embellishment are for the weak-minded.”

  “Wanker.” Frankly, right now, she couldn’t think of a better response.

  The oneiroi to her right made a little noise that sounded remarkably like a laugh, though Abrax didn’t seem to notice as he started across the room. Ursula frowned at where they were going. A jumble of scaffolding stood propped against the cliff face at the far end of the room.

  “After my visit to your boyfriend’s manor, I decided to do a little excavating myself. I think you’ll want to see what I found.” Abrax reached the scaffolding, then lifted a tarp to reveal the mouth of a tunnel.

  Ursula glared at the ragged hole cut into the rock. “Where exactly are you taking me?”

  “Someplace private where we can chat.”

  Bollocks. “We can chat perfectly well right here. Just send your guards away, and I will tell you anything you want to know.” She channeled a bit more of Emerazel’s fire into her blood.

  Abrax flashed the guard next to her a look, and instantly the cold steel of a sword pressed against her spine.

  “We’ll chat where I say that we’ll chat.”

  She grunted with frustration, her gut churning with nerves. With the blade directing her, she followed Abrax into the tunnel.

  Inside, Abrax conjured a glowing orb, revealing crudely carved walls and a floor littered with debris. Ursula sniffed. It had that familiar lunar smell: creosote and rock dust. Abrax hadn’t been lying—this tunnel had just been hewn from the cliff face. A cold fear threatened to quench the fire in her veins. Where is he taking me?

  Abrax led them farther into the bowels of the cliff. After a hundred yards, the walls seemed to close in. Ursula had to duck as they passed through a narrow gap in the rock and into another tunnel. Here, the floor was clear of debris and the raw smell of rock dust much fainter. Ursula reached out to touch the smooth stone walls. In this part of the tunnel, they were moving through an older space. She glanced behind her, seeing only impenetrable darkness.

  Abrax led them deeper into the side of the cliff, the light from his orb revealing curling patterns and runes carved into the rock. The same ones she’d seen in Bael’s manor, carved by the same people. The passage twisted and turned, deeper and deeper into the side of the cliff.

  Ursula’s jaw clenched as they walked. She hated the idea of ending up in a remote place with this smarmy, torturing prick. But she wasn’t holding any cards in this scenario.

  Around them, veins of violet crystal began to streak the rock, and Ursula reached out to touch one. Icy shadow magic hummed against her fingertips. For a moment, she glimpsed Nyxobas’s void yawning before her. A voice rose from the depths of her own mind. Who are you, Ursula? Who are you really? Fear washed over her. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know who she was—she craved the pure, sweet oblivion of the void. The emptiness—the freedom.

  As suddenly as the vision had arrived, it was replaced by a vision of Emerazel’s infernos—so realistic she could taste bitter ash on her tongue. She yanked her hand back as though burned.

  She must have yelped, because Abrax spun round.

  “Keep your hands at your sides,” he growled.

  Ursula felt the sharp point of a sword at her back again.

  As they moved deeper down the passage, the cool hum of shadow magic flickered over Ursula. More of the purple crystals glinted in the rock around them. Emerazel’s fire thrummed in her veins, yet her skin felt frigid—like she was standing outside on the coldest day of winter.

  Something wasn’t right. Shadow magic had never felt this icy, this foreign, before. When Bael had taught her how to wield it, to shadow run, it had been a powerful energy flowing within her. Now, it was something entirely different, as alien to her as the harsh lunar landscape.

  Just up ahead, Abrax disappeared from view as the tunnel cut sharply right. When she reached the turn, her breath caught as a wave of frozen air washed over her. I could really use a warm coat right about now.

  The tunnel opened up into a large cavern. Like the interior of a geode, violet crystals lined the floor, walls, and ceiling.
In between the crystals grew enormous luminescent mushrooms. Their light shone through the translucent stone, illuminating the room with indigo light.

  Abrax strode to a platform in the center of the cavern, his arms folded over his chest, and mounted it. Despite the stillness of the air, thick clouds of shadow magic swirled about him. Violet light sculpted his exquisite face. He was striking—except the fact that he was a murderous arsehole kind of detracted from his beauty a bit.

  “Now, this is a nice place to talk,” he said.

  A frigid chill rippled over Ursula’s body, and her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably. Shadow magic wafted and curled between the crystals like swamp gas among the roots of ancient trees.

  Slowly, the magic seemed to penetrate her body, filling her with an icy, gnawing emptiness. Ursula’s legs gave way to quavering spasms, and she fell to her knees.

  “Now you see the true power of Nyxobas,” intoned Abrax.

  “What is wrong with me?” Ursula managed. Her body was shivering uncontrollably, her teeth chattering so hard she thought they might break.

  “That is what I intend to find out,” said Abrax.

  One of the oneiroi guards grabbed the chain between her manacles and began to drag her toward the center of the cavern. As she neared Abrax, Ursula saw that he stood on a platform carved from pure shadow-crystal. Shadow magic floated over its surface in a dark miasma. Every fiber of her being wanted to run, to sprint back down the tunnel, but her entire body trembled uncontrollably, like a fish flopping on a fisherman’s dock.

  She was unable to so much as throw a punch as the guards lifted her up. When they dropped her onto the crystal platform, shadow magic seared her skin, as if she’d been thrown into a bath of liquid nitrogen. Pain screamed through her body. Get me the fuck out of here.

  With the chain that bound her wrists, Abrax yanked her into a sitting position. “Who are you?”

  “Ursula,” she said through chattering teeth. “You know this, you useless knob-end.”

  Quick as a snake, Abrax slammed his boot into her chest and pushed her down to the crystal. “Tell me where you come from.”